Rep. Wallace to run for Baird’s seat

State Rep. Deb Wallace, a former president of the Downtown Vancouver Association., on Thursday became the first Democrat to seat the U.S. House seat about to be vacated by Rep. Brian Baird, D-Wash.

“Our country faces some of its greatest challenges it has ever encountered and we are in the toughest economic climate I have seen in my generation,” said the four-term legislator, who chairs the House Higher Education Committee.

“Now is the time for leaders in Washington, D.C., who are ready to roll up their sleeves, reach across party lines and tackle these challenges head on.”

Wallace is a potentially formidable candidate to succeed Baird, who announced his retirement from Congress late Wednesday.

The Columbia in Vancouver, endorsing her re-election last year, wrote:

“Versatility and dedication have marked Wallace’s three terms as state representative. Since emerging as a Democratic Dunn-beater in 2002, Wallace has excelled, first in transportation issues, and, in the past two sessions, in education matters.”

Vancouver and Clark County are the biggest population centers in the 3rd District, which embraces most of Southwest Washington.

The 3rd District is a classic “swing” congressional seat, although Baird has solidified a hold on it over the past 10 years.

The district was twice carried by George W. Bush, but went for Barack Obama by a 53-45 margin in 2008. While Obama was winning the presidential vote, however, Republican Dino Rossi took the district in his unsuccessful run for governor.

In announcing Thursday, Wallace seemed to borrow from the playbook of the late House Speaker Tip O’Neill, who famously declared: “All politics is local.” She stressed accessibility and service.

“From day one, I’ve been committed to being open and accessible to my constituents and being responsive to their needs,” she said. “My focus has been investing prudently and in a fiscally responsible manner to improve education, modernize our transportation network, encourage economic development and job growth and ensuring public safety.

“I’ve always believed that government should live within its means, just like our families do and I will bring that same approach to Congress.”

The 3rd District’s most famous member of Congress was the late Rep. Julia Butler Hansen from Cathlamet, often nicknamed “the little old lady in loggers boots.”

Hansen was chairwoman of the powerful House Interior Appropriations subcommittee, with power over the pursestrings of the U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and other federal agencies.

She was famous for bringing federal dollars to the district.

In recent years, however, the 3rd District – once a bastion of blue-collar Democratic politics – has become more conservative in its voting habits.

Deb Wallace has lived in Vancouver for 21 years. She and husband John have three grown children.